Week 6 - Oregon State Beavers @ Appalachian State Mountaineers: How To Watch, Preview, Storylines
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Oregon State's season has continued to drag on in a wildly disappointing fashion, with their most recent contest a heartbreaking 27-24 overtime loss to Houston that dropped the Beavers to 0-5. Appalachian State has had quite little success of its own to this point in its 2025 campaign, coming off two straight losses to Southern Miss and Boise State. As both teams look to right the ship, their Week 6 matchup is another important game for both programs.
Here's everything you need to know about Saturday afternoon's contest:
Oregon State Beavers (0-5, 0-0 Pac-12) vs Appalachian State Mountaineers (2-2, 0-1 Sun Belt)
Date: Saturday, October 4th
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET // 12:30 p.m. PT
Location: Kidd Brewer Stadium - Boone, North Carolina
TV: ESPN+
Radio: TuneIn Radio
Betting Line: Appalachian State-1.5 on FanDuel
Who Can Stop The Skid First?
Oregon State's 0-5 record places them among the teams with the highest level of desperation as the season continues. Time is running out for the Beavers to show signs of life, and Appalachian State, despite a better record, is trending toward being in a similar boat. Expectations to open the season for the Beavers were reasonably high, with a solid batch of returning starters matching up well with flashy new arrivals.
The team has utterly failed to come close to their talent ceiling through five weeks, but the season is far from over. Their near-upset of Houston could light a spark under the program, and, at times, they looked dangerous against the Cougars. The Mountaineers, on the other hand, have struggled mightily after two strong opening wins and are on the verge of falling below .500. Simply put, neither team has had the success they entered the season striving for, and a loss for either school in Week 6 would put them in serious trouble with little time to re-correct.
MORE: State of the Beavs: Why Is This Happening? - What Fits, What Doesn't For OSU Football
Pass Rush vs Turnover Creation
Neither program has been overwhelmingly impressive on the defensive side of the ball, but each has legitimate strengths that will heavily impact the game. On the side of the Beavers, their turnover creation has been a consistent bright spot through five contests. They've picked off four passes and forced a fumble, despite not recovering it, and have been a consistently violent defensive unit.
The Mountaineers' prowess has come through their pass rush, recording almost three sacks a game with 75 total pressures. Their interior defensive line of Kevin Abrams-Verwayne, Thomas Davis, Aiden Benton, and Caleb Sandstrom, among others, has kept opposing quarterbacks consistently uncomfortable. Defense will likely play a massive role in the outcome of the game, per usual, and whichever team can tap into its strength early and often will have the immediate high road to victory.
MORE: Murphy Protects the Ball, Flashes Rhythm in Oregon State’s Heartbreaker
Battle of Similar Signal Callers
Big-time arms with big-time turnover issues. That's been the story of the season for Oregon State's Maalik Murphy and Appalachian State's AJ Swann. Both quarterbacks have flashed incredible playmaking ability, but with 11 total interceptions between the two, putting the ball in harm's way has been a prevalent problem.
The two captains will be major driving factors in the eventual outcome of the game, and their matchup is certainly an intriguing one. Murphy's game against Houston saw a much more conservative approach that worked for the first part of the game, but fell apart as it progressed. Swann struggled heavily in his most recent appearance against Boise State, completing under 50% of his passes for just 64 yards with one score and two picks. Both QBs will be forced to separate themself from the other with their play on Saturday, and the performance of the two could directly determine the outcome of the game.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
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Ian Harper is a student journalist and broadcaster studying at Rowan University. He is also the founder of Poolesville Sports Web with previous bylines covering college football, Major League Baseball, the NFL, and NFL Draft for Athlon Sports and Last Word On Sports.